Tottenville High School - Purple Parrot Yearbook (Staten Island, NY)

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Baby Slifer 19 zfemfm My name is Marlene. I am an average teen-ager with an average teen- age problem, money. If it weren't for my financial status this whole affair would not have happened. My girl friend, Marge, and I were sitting in her living room trying to think of some way to earn some money. We wanted to buy some school sweaters but simply didn't have enough money. Hwfelve tried running errands, mowing lawns and even washing dishes but no one seems to need our services. Besides, those jobs don't pay very much any way,', Marge lamented. No one even needs baby sitters any more, I added. Suddenly Marge smiled wickedly. In a moment I knew why, for she said, HI-Iow about the Kiljoys? They even had an ad in the paper for a baby- sitterf, Immediately I started for the door. You see no one wants to sit for the Kiljoys and if you knew Junior Kiljoy you would understand. Marge must have anticipated my reaction because she got to the door ahead of me. She stood there with her arms outstretched blocking my exit. She began talking fast. 6'I'll get the job for you and make the arrange- ments and we'll split fifty-fifty. MNOV' I said. HW7hat? she asked. t'NO!! This time I was even more definite in my reply. Marge began to use her persuasive methods: she really is persuasive. I finally gave in. I unwrapped my leg from around my neck as Marge removed her handcuffs. Then she ,phoned the Kiljoys. They must have wanted a night out pretty badly or they wanted to get out before I changed my mind, because they gave me a job that very night. ZX??XZ?Pi4?P? I arrived at the Kiljoys at eight oiclock. Mrs. Kiljoy greeted me with these cheering Words! ttlf Josah gives you any trouble send him to bed. He is a little devilish at timesf, This was the understatement of the last few centuries, as I was to find out. 31

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Foofprzhfs he 2726 Safari' Did you ever go out to a beach and just sit there and think and watch and notice the footprints in the sand and wonder to yourself, Who were the people who made them? What are they? Did the person who walked here and made those footprints come here to think, to he alone, and perhaps to watch the water? Did he come here to paint a picture of the wind rustling through the spikes of the sparse, brown, saw grass? Or could they have been made by some young fellow on his way to meet his girl?'7 Possibly this person is elderly, and walking is his only enjoyment. Perhaps he is only a little way from here, and maybe some of those other footprints are his, too. What do old people enjoy? Do they like having their friends around, or do they prefer to keep themselves company? That person could be getting his paints and palette and canvas ready now. He might be composing a picture using the water, the sky, even those hoary, grotesquely shaped trees or branches, fitting them in and portraying his own thoughts and personality in the picture. Did that young man meet the girl? If she was there she probably brought along a lunch and they plan to make an afternoon of it. Perhaps today they will decide that theirs is more than a casual friend- ship. What will happen to the old gentleman? Vllill he live much longer and will he be happy, or will something happen to make him sorry that he has lived so long? Can he appreciate the world when he knows it so well? Wiould a person, who knows he will not live very long, think about living or not living? Will the painter turn his back on the sea and look for a more spec- tacular picture? He would think the old trees too niisshapen and grotesque even to bother with. Instead, he will paint an idealistic scene with color and activity rather than a drab seascape with not even one majestic wave to crash upon the shore. Will the two young people learn to live and fit into what is real or must they turn to idealistic things? And after a while the waves roll up on the shore, and draw back, leaving the sand smooth, gleaming, and unmarked. PATRICIA Ronixsox 30

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lVIrs. Kiljoy told me to wait until they were about to leave and she would introduce me to Junior. I guess she didn't want me to see what I was in for until it was too late to back out. I watched Mrs. Kiljoy stand in front of the hall mirror and spray on enough perfume to drown an elephant, but then again if any self-respecting elephant were as big as lVIrs. Kiljoy he would go on a diet. Then Mr. Kiljoy came down. He was a meek looking man with a high shrill voice. With parents like this, it was hard to imagine what Junior would look like, but I found out. He was about three feet tall and wore great black-rimmed glasses that seemed to take up his whole face. He was reading a book called MEinstein's Theory of Relativityw aloud and holding it upside down at that. As soon as he heard the front door slam he came to life. He began innocently: 4'Tell me a storyf, At this moment I began to think all the rumors about HThe Fiendish Junior Kiljoyw were just idle gossip. Again I was Wrong. HAII right, Junior, Once upon a time there was a little girl-,I MI donlt like little girls. lVIake it a big boy,'7 Junior broke in. '4But I canit, Junior. Did you ever hear of a big boy called Little Red Riding Hood?,' At this moment Junior hit my big toe with a hammer. As I stood holding my foot and glaring at him, I noticed he was frothing at the mouth. I calmed him by suggesting: Hluetls play hide-and-go-seek. I should have known then what I was getting into. I hid my eyes and counted to 100, then I started hunting for little Junior. Fifteen minutes later there was still no trace of Junior and I had looked under, over, through, and next to practically everything in the house. Still fifteen more minutes passed and I still couldn't find Junior. I was beginning to think he was lost. A fiendish smile played at my lips as I thought: 'clVIaybe he ran out into the dark night and is even now being spirited away by bloodthirsty murderersfl Then I remembered I should be worried tbesides if he was missing I might not get paidj. Nervously I got an aspirin out of my purse and went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. I opened the closet over the sink and got a glass. From the second shelf sprang Junior with his air rifle. HRAH-ah-ah-ah-ah I'm a Commando. 32